The Calgary Flames headed east to sweet home Chicago for their final date of the truncated 2013 season. Given that it was a contest between a non-playoff squad and the NHL's newly-crowned Presidents' Trophy winners, there were certain expectations for how the game would go.

Would those expectations be met? In terms of the result, yes, but in terms of the effort? Not entirely.

THE RUNDOWN

The Flames stumbled out of the gate, generally getting out-chanced and out-played by the Blackhawks. Chicago out-shot the Flames 13-5 in the first and had two goals. The first came off a weird in-zone bounce, where Joey MacDonald made the first save and then the defensive zone coverage appeared to disappear. Patrick Kane snapped the puck home on a nifty feed from Patrick Sharp to put the Flames behind the eight-ball 1-0. Jonathan Toews took advantage of a beautiful rebound (and no defensive coverage) four minutes later to put the Flames down by two.

What would the team do?

Oddly, they fought back. Down two goals after 20 minutes, on the road, in a barn where they usually aren't very good, the Flames out-shot the Blackhawks 13-12 in the second and crept back within one goal via Chris Butler's first (and only) goal of the season. Lee Stempniak and Ben Street earned assists on a goal created on the forecheck.

The Hawks woke up and out-played the Flames in the third – let's face it, as they should – and Marcus Kruger snapped the insurance marker home to seal the deal mid-way through the third period.

RED WARRIOR

Let's give it to Ben Street, who had 2 shots, 3 hits and his first NHL point via his assist on Calgary's lone (short-handed) marker. Plus, look at that head.

Honourable mention to Lee Stempniak, who also had an assist and ended the year tied with Mike Cammalleri for the team lead in points. (Cammalleri played fewer games and had more goals, so he wins on both tie-breakers, but Stempniak had a great year.)

SCORING CHANCES

(via Justin Azevedo)

Scoring Chance Summary

Team

Period

Time

Note

Home

Away

State

Home

1

19:41

Toews

19

81

20

7

8

50

18

46

29

5

6

35

5v5

Away

1

17:39

Horak

65

25

29

2

17

50

10

11

51

5

6

35

5v5

Away

1

17:24

Cervenka

65

25

29

2

17

50

10

11

51

5

6

35

5v5

Home

1

10:26

Kane (Goal)

65

25

29

7

8

50

18

46

16

26

44

35

5v5

Home

1

9:58

Stalberg

65

25

29

7

8

50

19

22

58

5

6

35

5v5

Away

1

7:09

Stempniak

19

81

20

27

32

50

18

46

22

26

44

35

5v5

Home

1

6:58

Toews (Goal)

26

10

88

7

8

50

19

22

58

7

42

35

5v5

Home

1

6:30

Kane

26

10

88

7

8

50

19

22

58

7

42

35

5v5

Home

1

4:14

Saad

19

81

20

27

32

50

18

22

58

42

44

35

5v5

Away

2

19:12

Street

26

10

88

7

8

50

11

29

51

7

42

35

5v5

Home

2

17:17

Stalberg

65

25

29

27

32

50

19

22

58

26

44

35

5v5

Home

2

17:11

Stalberg

65

25

29

27

32

50

19

22

58

26

44

35

5v5

Away

2

16:36

Brodie

16

67

52

8

32

50

38

29

13

7

42

35

5v5

Home

2

11:35

Stalberg

26

10

25

27

32

50

18

46

29

7

42

35

5v5

Away

2

10:29

Hanowski

65

88

29

7

8

50

19

29

58

7

42

35

5v5

Home

2

10:05

Shaw

19

10

88

25

2

50

11

13

5

6

35

5v4

Away

2

8:10

Cammalleri

65

67

81

27

32

50

11

13

5

7

35

5v4

Away

2

7:23

Jones

16

67

52

27

32

50

19

38

13

26

44

35

5v5

Away

2

3:52

Cundari

19

81

20

7

8

50

38

46

22

26

44

35

5v5

Away

2

1:51

Aliu

16

67

52

7

8

50

19

22

29

26

44

35

5v5

Home

2

1:19

Bollig

19

67

52

7

8

50

19

22

29

26

44

35

5v5

Away

3

19:17

Stempniak

19

81

20

2

17

50

19

38

22

7

42

35

5v5

Away

3

19:15

Brodie

19

81

20

2

17

50

11

19

22

6

7

35

5v5

Away

3

19:14

Backlund

19

81

20

2

17

50

11

19

22

6

7

35

5v5

Home

3

16:17

Kruger

16

67

20

27

32

50

38

29

13

5

6

35

5v5

Home

3

13:43

Stalberg

65

25

29

2

17

50

19

29

58

7

42

35

5v5

Home

3

11:36

Toews

19

81

20

7

8

50

19

16

58

26

44

35

5v5

Home

3

9:30

Bickell

65

25

29

7

8

50

19

46

29

5

6

35

5v5

Home

3

9:14

Frolik

16

67

52

7

8

50

19

46

29

5

6

35

5v5

Home

3

8:39

Frolik

19

81

20

2

17

50

18

16

58

26

44

35

5v5

Home

3

7:48

Saad

26

81

20

2

32

50

18

16

58

26

44

35

5v5

Home

3

5:21

Kane

19

10

88

2

32

50

19

46

26

44

35

5v4

Home Team Player Summary

#

Player

EV

PP

SH

2

KEITH, DUNCAN

18:14

3

5

02:01

2

0

00:00

0

0

7

SEABROOK, BRENT

19:09

9

4

01:34

0

0

00:00

0

0

8

LEDDY, NICK

20:25

9

5

01:46

0

0

00:00

0

0

10

SHARP, PATRICK

13:53

3

1

02:01

2

0

00:00

0

0

16

KRUGER, MARCUS

13:31

2

3

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

17

BROOKBANK, SHELDON

17:17

2

5

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

19

TOEWS, JONATHAN

13:37

5

5

02:01

2

0

00:00

0

0

20

SAAD, BRANDON

14:34

6

5

00:47

0

0

00:00

0

0

25

STALBERG, VIKTOR

12:43

7

2

00:48

1

0

00:00

0

0

26

HANDZUS, MICHAL

13:33

4

1

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

27

ODUYA, JOHNNY

17:21

5

2

00:13

0

1

00:00

0

0

29

BICKELL, BRYAN

14:28

6

3

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

32

ROZSIVAL, MICHAL

19:34

6

3

01:38

1

1

00:00

0

0

50

CRAWFORD, COREY

17

12

2

1

0

0

52

BOLLIG, BRANDON

12:10

2

3

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

65

SHAW, ANDREW

15:48

6

3

01:59

0

1

00:00

0

0

67

FROLIK, MICHAEL

13:26

3

3

00:05

0

1

00:00

0

0

81

HOSSA, MARIAN

12:52

5

5

01:59

0

1

00:00

0

0

88

KANE, PATRICK

17:25

2

2

03:08

2

0

00:00

0

0

Away Player Scoring Summary

#

Player

EV

PP

SH

5

GIORDANO, MARK

20:49

2

5

00:00

0

0

00:56

1

1

6

SARICH, CORY

20:03

4

5

00:00

0

0

01:20

0

1

7

BRODIE, TJ

15:45

6

4

00:00

0

0

01:07

1

0

10

CERVENKA, ROMAN

01:34

2

0

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

11

BACKLUND, MIKAEL

13:51

5

0

00:00

0

0

01:04

1

1

13

CAMMALLERI, MIKE

15:43

2

1

00:00

0

0

00:49

1

1

16

MCGRATTAN, BRIAN

15:28

0

4

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

18

STAJAN, MATT

11:54

1

6

00:00

0

0

01:36

0

0

19

JONES, BLAIR

18:22

6

10

00:00

0

0

01:13

0

1

22

STEMPNIAK, LEE

18:42

6

7

00:00

0

0

00:25

0

0

26

WIDEMAN, DENNIS

20:08

4

7

00:00

0

0

02:17

0

1

29

ALIU, AKIM

16:26

4

7

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

35

MACDONALD, JOEY

12

17

0

0

1

2

38

STREET, BEN

14:38

4

1

00:00

0

0

00:22

0

0

42

CUNDARI, MARK

15:45

4

5

00:00

0

0

00:00

0

0

44

BUTLER, CHRIS

19:36

4

8

00:00

0

0

02:20

0

1

46

BANCKS, CARTER

15:36

2

5

00:00

0

0

01:13

0

1

51

HORAK, ROMAN

12:34

3

0

00:00

0

0

00:34

0

0

58

HANOWSKI, BEN

13:49

1

10

00:00

0

0

00:44

0

0

Home Team Period Summary Scoring Chances

Period

Totals

EV

PP

5v3 PP

SH

5v3 SH

1

6

3

6

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

5

7

4

6

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

8

3

7

3

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Away Team Period Summary Scoring Chances

Period

Totals

EV

PP

5v3 PP

SH

5v3 SH

1

3

6

3

6

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

7

5

6

4

0

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

3

3

8

3

7

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

Flames

Hawks

WHY THE FLAMES LOST

Let's be blunt here: they were playing the NHL's best team. They fought valiantly, they scored a short-handed goal and they played a defiant scrappy game. But they probably should have lost this game, and they did.

DRAFT PICK PROGRESS

Edmonton won! They passed Calgary! If Carolina gets a point or wins tomorrow, Calgary moves up a draft pick. Similarly, if Nashville wins tomorrow, Calgary moves up a draft pick.

Worst-case, Calgary sits sixth headed into the draft lottery. If Carolina and Nashville both succeed, they can draft as high as fourth. Go Hurricanes and Predators!

UP NEXT

The 2013 season is over. What's left is reflection on 2013 and preparation for 2013-14.

It's Green Garbage Bag Day down at the 'Dome on Sunday. We'll have an extra special day of coverage for you, in the sense that I'll be live-blogging in-between running to and from scrums. It'll be ever-so-much fun!

Until then.

Ryan Pike has covered the Calgary Flames since 2010. A Calgary native who writes for FlamesNation and The Hockey Writers, he's often at Flames games and practices, as well as spotted in the background of scrums and press conferences asking about Sven Baertschi.

Holy Cow - finally some good news! The Oilers win (ha!) and Flames loss means that we can either draft Barkov (my personal favourite) or have our choice of either Lindholm/Monahan (I prefer Lindholm, but Monahan's case is very interesting).

In other words, no matter how this shakes out the Flames should be able to draft the high skill pivot the org has been lacking since Joe-Who AND we would be taking the exact player the Oilers need/want most.

Good times

That all said, Feaster and Co. may have serious man-love for Drouin or Nichushkin (and if they do I'm fine with that, either could be exceptional, Drouin has a little Patrick Kane in him, and Nichuskin is a power-winger in the Jagr mold) or Nurse (uh-oh), and draft the BPA instead of for need.

Normally I'd be all over BPA, but this time around I think the temptation to take a center is simply too great to pass on, and the quality of the guys available where we draft is likely to be indistinguishable from the other positions.

In other good news, the Pens should face the Rangers in the first, and St Louis has drawn LA! The Rangers are perfectly poised to be Pen-killers; The Croz and Malkin are less than 100%, and the Rangers have a goaltender who can get white-hot for no goddamn reason at all. St Louis for all their strengths is a poor matchup against the Kings who are bigger and deeper at every position except defense, where it is something of a saw-off (Doughty is the best of all D in the series, but the Blues are deeper 1-6). If Quick returns to form, the Blues could easily be out in the 1st round.

Last but by no means least, the schadenfreude I get reading Oiler fan posts about what their win last night did to their chances of drafting Barkov has been pure bliss.

I really hope we get Monahan or Lindholm. I'm not sure Nurse is the guy the Flames need moving forward. I had dreams of Barkov, but I think he may even go top 2 now. And the Nischukin-KHL thing/connection always worries me.

BTW for anyone interested, if the standings stay the same, and Pittsburgh and St. Louis lose in the 1st round, the draft picks would be #20 and #25. The NHL does not reseed the draft order based on playoff position until the conference finals. So, pick 27 and 28 go to conference finalists, 29 to the Cup finalist, and 30 for the Cup winner. It's one of the reasons I feel no shame in cheering for Iggy to win the Cup, because based on what I've read about the draft, the gap between 25-30 is not very big.

All we need is a Nashville win to move up to 4th, and then Barkov is not such a long shot. If it goes Jones, Drouin/ Mackinnon/ Barkov we are set.

One of those three centers will be available. We just need to hope for a Nashville win and to not drop in the lottery. Worst case for me is winning the lottery and taking Jones because of the consensus #1 pick. He may be great, but we need a center more than anything. Preferably a giant Finnish one.

Although the team is not going to the post season, I'm excited to see on Monday who will win the Draft Lottery. With all 14 non-playoff teams involved any one of them has a chance for first overall.

Mercifully this season is over. After watching the game last night against the Blackhawks, I can see that as much as the team gave a good effort they have a long ways to go before they can compete with upper echelon in the league. Building towards a loftier status in the standings begins with the 2013 draft.

Just watching Toews and Kane along with Keith and Seabrook last night made me wonder if the Flames with the 9 picks in the upcoming draft will find a true game changer.

@ BurningSensation

I wonder if both the Pens and Blues lose it changes their draft ranking?
I think the deeper a team goes into the playoffs their draft ranking will be determined. The sooner the better for Flames sake.

BTW for anyone interested, if the standings stay the same, and Pittsburgh and St. Louis lose in the 1st round, the draft picks would be #20 and #25. The NHL does not reseed the draft order based on playoff position until the conference finals. So, pick 27 and 28 go to conference finalists, 29 to the Cup finalist, and 30 for the Cup winner. It's one of the reasons I feel no shame in cheering for Iggy to win the Cup, because based on what I've read about the draft, the gap between 25-30 is not very big.

I really hope we get Monahan or Lindholm. I'm not sure Nurse is the guy the Flames need moving forward. I had dreams of Barkov, but I think he may even go top 2 now. And the Nischukin-KHL thing/connection always worries me.

I agree drafting a Russian player because of the non-transfer / KHL factors is sketchy.

The Flames need to get bigger.

Right now how the team is assembled they have very few players with a good combination of size, skill and grit. It is imperative Feaster and the rest of the Flames scouting staff are prepared and have done their due diligence with their first round selections.

Over this past year Feaster has proven his track record for preparation and planning has been quite underwhelming. Let's see if he can prove to me that this team can continue to draft well.

IMaybe I'm wrong but this draft is set-up for Calgary to succeed with their 9 picks. If they fail to at the very least draft a game changing center, a big mobile D man and some wingers with good skill set speed and size then I'm afraid this reboot will take a very long time in the process back to playoff contention and respectability.

If the Flames were to win the draft lottery, I cant see them passing on Jones if for no other reason than they already have his D partner from the last 2 years already under contract.

i hope we go for a centre but i could see the Wotherspoon connection factoring into the decision making process.

Actually, I can see Feaster already knowing the player they want could be had at 8th or 9th pick & if they did win the lottery. they could flip it to Philly who right now are picking 8th, for Couturier & the 8th overall pick. Depending which top young prospect they get would determine who they take, if they get a centre, then they would take Ristoulenen(sp?)Or vica versa & they scoop Linholm or Monahan.

BTW for anyone interested, if the standings stay the same, and Pittsburgh and St. Louis lose in the 1st round, the draft picks would be #20 and #25. The NHL does not reseed the draft order based on playoff position until the conference finals. So, pick 27 and 28 go to conference finalists, 29 to the Cup finalist, and 30 for the Cup winner. It's one of the reasons I feel no shame in cheering for Iggy to win the Cup, because based on what I've read about the draft, the gap between 25-30 is not very big.

My understanding is that these picks will also depend on who else loses. So if all the favorites lose in round 1, plus St Louis, then that makes their pick something closer to #15. Not likely to happen, but makes it hard to say that their pick will put us at #20 or 22 or wherever until StL loses and the round they lose out in is over.

Having said that, if they do lose in round one, their pick would land somewhere between 15th and 22nd. Then 2nd round losers pick 23rd to 26th.

Agreed,
If we do in fact finish 5th or 6th what do you think it will take to get into the top 4? Our first, St louis First ?
I'm a firm believer that Feaster has no intention of drafting with all 3 firsts and that a move up is in the plans. If the right player is still available i'm all for it.

This morning there seems to be a sense of calm over who will be available at 7th or 8th, so long as Feaster and Weisbrod are picking ahead of the Oilers.

Looking over the draft rankings I think the Flames will be looking at one of Monahan, Linholm, Nurse or Nichushkin, assuming the top four are Jones, MacKinnon, Drouin and Barkov.

What I noticed in particular was that Oiler fans were screaming for Barkov to be their top pick, but now that Calgary is ahed of them, it seems highly unlikely that Barkov would be there.

There does seem to be a similar consensus among Oiler fans that if you can't get Barkov, one of Lindholm or Monahan is the next obvious choice.

Nichushkin both terrifies and fascinates me.

In 1990 the top 5 players picked were;

1. Owen Nolan
2. Petr Nedved
3. Keith Primeau
4. Mike Ricci

5. Jaromir Jagr

(Trevor Kidd was considered the top goaltender and likely a franchsie netminder. Sadly, that honour actually went to some guy named Brodeur taken in the 2nd).

My point being that I could easily see Nichushkin being the guy taken at pick 5 who ends up being the best guy in the draft when it's all said and done. The similarities between Jagr and Nichushkin are strong; both are big power/skill wingers with speed, they are beasts off the rush, have terrific shots, can stick-handle in an outhouse, both have 'question marks' about committment/attitude, and both are guys who can be fairly criticized for playing in a bubble.

If the Flames were to take Nichushkin I wouldn't be surprised or dissapointed. Would it make me nervous? Hell yes, but Nichushkin is definitely a high-end high reward prospect.

As for the Oilers, if Barkov is off the board, I could see them preferring a guy like Nurse to Lindholm (a tad undersized), or Monahan (have to squint to see improvement over his last year because of the crap team he played on and the lack of uptick in his offense).

Part of the issue I think is what the Oilers think Gagner is going forward. Is he a 2nd line center who can give you consistent offense and hold his own defensively? (I don't think so) Or is he a 3rd line center on a good team who is best used against weaker opposition (ala Derek Roy in Vcr)? If the Oilers commit to Gagner the obvious weakness on the roster is on defense, and that may tip their hand towards taking a guy like Nurse or Ristulainen over a question mark center like Lindholm/Monahan.

According to About.com this is how the draft order is to work this year.

Draft Order

The 14 teams that missed the playoffs during the previous NHL season are awarded the first 14 picks. They draft in order of fewest points to most points, subject to the results of the draft lottery.
The current Stanley Cup champion picks last (30th).
The Stanley Cup runner-up picks 29th.
The other two Conference Finalists pick 28th and 27th.
Regular-season division winners hold the other lowest positions.
Remaining teams draft in order of fewest points to most points from the previous regular season.

Funny that you mention Brodeur being drafted after Kidd. Guess who gave NJ that pick for Brodeur?

And I quote: "The Calgary Flames traded their first round selection in 1990 (20th overall), Detroit's second round selection in 1990 (previously acquired), and Minnesota's second round selection in 1990 (previously acquired) to the New Jersey Devils for the Devils' first (11th overall) and second round selections in 1990."

Calgary took Trevor Kidd, New Jersey got some sack of crap named Martin Brodeur. GREAT DRAFT!

Also, according to HF, Nichushkin is a centre, not a winger. Don't know where you got that he was a winger like Jagr. That's not a knock on you BS, I just don't know anything about the kid.

Barkov scares me a great deal. We are dealing with kids who are still developing. He was this size 2 years ago and has not improved at the rate that a Drouin, Jones, Zadorov and Lindholm have. He is still better than Lindholm but I don't think he has the same ceiling.
I would love to see us move into the 1st round once more by dealing with a cap strapped team. Something like a Gio for Mezeros and their 1st with us eating the contract of Gio. Or a GlenX, 2014- 2nd for Ruutuu and their 1st with us again eating contract. In both cases we would be eating contract, losing a good player for a lesser player but getting that 1st. Teams like Philly and Carolina aren't really at the rebuilding stage like we are. Carolina will be very good with their goalie back next year and if Pha clears up their goalie mess and add Gio, they will be fine. Another team in Cap trouble to look at is TB and perhaps they would be open for business.
I do think we are looking to deal with these teams but I think Feaster is targeting some decent RFA's rather than the drafts in order to give those teams cap space.

A draft lottery win and some moves would set us up for Drouin, Lindholm and Ristolainen. With some added parts through trades. Feaster is about to turn into Cliff Fletcher from the 80's.

Barkov scares me a great deal. We are dealing with kids who are still developing. He was this size 2 years ago and has not improved at the rate that a Drouin, Jones, Zadorov and Lindholm have. He is still better than Lindholm but I don't think he has the same ceiling.
I would love to see us move into the 1st round once more by dealing with a cap strapped team. Something like a Gio for Mezeros and their 1st with us eating the contract of Gio. Or a GlenX, 2014- 2nd for Ruutuu and their 1st with us again eating contract. In both cases we would be eating contract, losing a good player for a lesser player but getting that 1st. Teams like Philly and Carolina aren't really at the rebuilding stage like we are. Carolina will be very good with their goalie back next year and if Pha clears up their goalie mess and add Gio, they will be fine. Another team in Cap trouble to look at is TB and perhaps they would be open for business.
I do think we are looking to deal with these teams but I think Feaster is targeting some decent RFA's rather than the drafts in order to give those teams cap space.

A draft lottery win and some moves would set us up for Drouin, Lindholm and Ristolainen. With some added parts through trades. Feaster is about to turn into Cliff Fletcher from the 80's.

Its weird, as a flames fan, discussing a draft with excitement. I really hope something good shakes loose from the teams who might be in cap trouble, but I am not sure a cap-strapped team will shed a draft pick that will be nearly nhl ready and cheap.

Either way the lottery and the draft are proving more exciting than the last bit of hockey since chucking in the towel.

Agreed,
If we do in fact finish 5th or 6th what do you think it will take to get into the top 4? Our first, St louis First ?
I'm a firm believer that Feaster has no intention of drafting with all 3 firsts and that a move up is in the plans. If the right player is still available i'm all for it.

I agree and think it's doubtful that we will draft all three first round picks. But I also have a feeling that Kevin R is correct in that they will try to move down rather than up so that they can get that diamond in the rough that no other team noticed.

I agree and think it's doubtful that we will draft all three first round picks. But I also have a feeling that Kevin R is correct in that they will try to move down rather than up so that they can get that diamond in the rough that no other team noticed.

That's what they did last year...

Trading down from 14 is quite different than trading down from 5. There was no star potential available so I think it made a lot of sense to trade down and get two guys they wanted instead of one. I don't think there's any reason to believe they'll trade star potential for quantity based on that.

Funny that you mention Brodeur being drafted after Kidd. Guess who gave NJ that pick for Brodeur?

And I quote: "The Calgary Flames traded their first round selection in 1990 (20th overall), Detroit's second round selection in 1990 (previously acquired), and Minnesota's second round selection in 1990 (previously acquired) to the New Jersey Devils for the Devils' first (11th overall) and second round selections in 1990."

Calgary took Trevor Kidd, New Jersey got some sack of crap named Martin Brodeur. GREAT DRAFT!

Also, according to HF, Nichushkin is a centre, not a winger. Don't know where you got that he was a winger like Jagr. That's not a knock on you BS, I just don't know anything about the kid.

It's certainly possible that Nichuskin plays C in the KHL, but when I 'saw him good' it was as a winger.

If he genuinely has the skillset to play C, then it only improves my feelings about him, since my biggest concern about taking him is that he isn't the franchise pivot we are all craving.

All the chatter in the hockeyblogosphere that I read is that he is considered a RW.

Barkov scares me a great deal. We are dealing with kids who are still developing. He was this size 2 years ago and has not improved at the rate that a Drouin, Jones, Zadorov and Lindholm have. He is still better than Lindholm but I don't think he has the same ceiling.
I would love to see us move into the 1st round once more by dealing with a cap strapped team. Something like a Gio for Mezeros and their 1st with us eating the contract of Gio. Or a GlenX, 2014- 2nd for Ruutuu and their 1st with us again eating contract. In both cases we would be eating contract, losing a good player for a lesser player but getting that 1st. Teams like Philly and Carolina aren't really at the rebuilding stage like we are. Carolina will be very good with their goalie back next year and if Pha clears up their goalie mess and add Gio, they will be fine. Another team in Cap trouble to look at is TB and perhaps they would be open for business.
I do think we are looking to deal with these teams but I think Feaster is targeting some decent RFA's rather than the drafts in order to give those teams cap space.

A draft lottery win and some moves would set us up for Drouin, Lindholm and Ristolainen. With some added parts through trades. Feaster is about to turn into Cliff Fletcher from the 80's.

Cult of Hockey (an Oilers blog) has a nice look at where Barkov's performance this year ranks among other players taken out of that league.

well thats that hopefully the draft works out, anyone know what the status of the overtime show on fan 960 is for next season really hope its a go. I caught Pat Steinberg mention somethinglast week about things being not good, not sure what he meant by that.Is it health related or something else really enjoy listening to the show.

The upshot? He's arguably the best since Forsberg (ahead of; the Sedin's, Naslund, etc.)

He's already 'man-sized' so the fact he didn't add any inches in height isn't much of a concern to me.

Frankly, as impressed as I am with Drouin (which is very), I would prefer the Flames take Barkov ahead of him should that choice present itself (it won't).

Barkov plays in the Finnish league, while the sedins and naslund are Swedes who played in the Swedish Elite league. Two totally different leagues, my friend, with the Swedish league having the better NHLE.

Plus, the Swedes played a couple of decades ago, so I really don't understand how their stats are relevant when contextualizing Barkov's performance.

AnD for those that get giddy about players with lofty stats in the Finnish elite league, I would point you in the direction of the elder Granlund. He had great numbers over there, and couldn't even crack an NHL roster. That isn't a knock on him, as he is offensively talented, but couldn't handle the speed, size, physciality, and defensive responsiblities of the NHL.

It's a big leap, and some guys who put up great numbers across the pond just can never adapt.